BBC Radio 3: Manchester Week – Postponed

In line with new Covid-19 restrictions, ‘Dark Days, Luminous Nights’ has been postponed until the spring. New dates will be announced as soon as possible.

BBC Radio 3’s Manchester Week will feature 10 live and pre-recorded concerts by Manchester’s leading ensembles and soloists, performing at some of the city’s most prestigious music venues: The Bridgewater Hall, The Stoller Hall and the BBC Philharmonic Studio in Media City UK.

Featuring on the New Music Show, BBC Radio 3 in Concert and BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert, the Hallé Orchestra, Manchester Camerata, BBC Philharmonic, Manchester Collective and Psappha will perform alongside world-class soloists including Stephen Hough, Marcus Farnsworth and Jennifer Pike.

Kicking off the week on 16^th January’s BBC Radio 3’s New Music Show, Psappha will beam live from The Stoller Hall, where they’ll present an eclectic array of music by living composers, including Ninfea Cruttwell-Reade, Lucy Armstrong, Anna Thorvalsdottir and John Casken. Introduced by Tom Service, the programme will also profile recordings and interviews with other composers and musicians on the Manchester scene.

From 18^th to 22^nd January, BBC Radio 3 in Concert and Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert slots will feature a brilliant range of live and pre-recorded concerts. Highlights include:

• Acclaimed pianist Stephen Hough performing music by Schumann, Chopin and Bach live from The Stoller Hall

• Manchester’s Hallé Orchestra, led by the ensemble’s Assistant Conductor Delyana Lazarova, live from The Bridgewater Hall in a programme of works by Bacewicz, and Shostakovich, with violinist Callum Smart joining the group for Glazunov’s Violin Concerto

• Trailblazing home-grown experimenters Manchester Collective live from The Stoller Hall with a programme featuring a brand new work by Freya Waley-Cohen, plus music by Górecki, Mahler and Dowland

• A pre-recorded Stoller Hall performance by the city’s chamber ensemble Manchester Camerata, featuring Dobrinka Tabakova’s Dawn, Copland’s Appalachian Spring, Michael Nyman’s Where the Bee Dances (with rising star saxophonist and broadcaster Jess Gillam) and Daniel Kidane’s new work Be Still (world premiere).

• The BBC Philharmonic in two concerts from Media City, with the ensemble led by Mark Wigglesworth in a repertoire including Haydn, Beethoven, Schoenberg, and Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn with tenor Roderick Williams

• Lunchtime Concerts at The Stoller Hall featuring Chetham’s alumnus violinist Jennifer Pike, acclaimed British baritone Marcus Farnsworth, and bassoonist Amy Harman.

Speaking about the exciting week of Manchester-based music, BBC Radio 3 Controller Alan Davey said:

“As restrictions on live performances accompany us into the new year, we at BBC Radio 3 continue to connect our audiences with the very best music-making from around the UK, enabling artists to perform and earn a living whilst bringing great live performance to a national and indeed global audience. Here we take a moment to celebrate inspiring talent and world-class venues and put the spotlight on one of the UK’s most creative and culturally vibrant cities, Manchester.”